Tuesday, 28 June 2011

So this week my wedding invites are being sent out and to accompany them I thought I'd post up a little insight into their creation.

I produced a limited edition of 140 although some of these will be used to create the name cards. They're printed on 260gsm Fabriano Mediovalas paper with accompanying envelopes. If you are thinking of printing your own cards or invitations I would recommend it as the quality is great, the price is reasonable and there are a number of sizes and fold styles. I bought mine from TN lawrence who were really helpful and worthy of the name-drop.

For those that have no idea about the process of screenprinting I thought it might be semi-interesting to explain, so here it is:

First off, I printed my design in black on a sheet of acetate. This is then exposed in a big machine with a UV light bulb at the bottom, onto a screen (mesh stretched over a frame), which is coated in photo-emulsion. The black of the design prevents the UV light from reaching the emulsion and as a result the rest of the paint that is exposed hardens. You are then able to rinse the un-exposed paint through the mesh and you have your screen ready for printing. It is then a case of pushing your paint/ink/paste through the mesh and onto your paper. In my case it was a case of doing that 140 times.

I've also included a little video which shows me printing three or four cards in sequence... and it's speeded up, I'm not that fast.

Friday, 24 June 2011

I hadn't checked the Creative Review blog in a while and stumbled across an amazing post concerning Bianca Chang. My first look at her work left me suitably impressed by the beauty and the simplicity of the designs working alongside the precision and accuracy of the cuts to the paper. It was a precision I assumed could only be acheived by laser-cutting until I read further and discovered she does the work by hand!

These videos show a little bit more of the process. Needless to say, I was stunned at the care, dedication, and patience that is needed to produce this work... she must rip through scalpel blades.

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Just a quick one today. I found this video by Andrea Gentl & Martin Hyers via Jacqui Dodds on her blog and it's fantastic. The film is shot beautifully and along with the intricacy and care that goes into the carving, it make for a great three minute viewing

Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Me, Doug and James went into town last week as James had a very nice letterpressed invite to the new Anthony Burrill exhibition at Outline Editions. The opening night was extremely busy so it was difficult to get a good look at all the work but from what we saw it looked great. The tables by Michael Marriot were the best place I've rested a beer for a long time! Outline Editions also features some great prints from other artists/illustrators, which I'll hopefully post when I get a minute, so it's well worth a visit if you're in the area.

We also tied it in with a visit to the StolenSpace Gallery in Shoreditch which was displaying an amazing show by Kai & Sunny. It featured a number of huge, awe-inspiring screenprinted images which were truly beautiful. They are used as illiustrations to a short story by David Mitchell called The Gardener. The accompanying A3 letterpressed box set was a little out of my budget so I had to make do with a free postcard. Apparently a friend of mine has bought the box set so I'll definitely be having a good look at that.

Monday, 6 June 2011

I was lucky enough to have a good root around an old print shop last weekend in Wrexham. Rob called me a few weeks ago to let me know that he was selling some of his letterpress equipment as he had recently retired. I managed to tie-in a visit up there on a trip to Telford and spent a great couple of hours looking around and having a chat.

Rob had already managed to contact some museums who took two of his presses but there is still a large Thompson Automic Platen Press that needs a new home. Unless he can find a taker it will have to go to scrap which is a massive shame. These machines have been beautifully made and engineered so I'd love to see the press continue to be used. If you're interested or know of anyone who may be able to help, please get in touch with me. I guess the main reason these machines do have to be scrapped is there sheer size and weight. The Thompson is at least 2.5 tonnes so to move to a new home would take a lot of effort. Rob also has an even bigger Wharfedale press which had to be built within the building and who's roller alone is 1.5 tonnes. I doubt very much that someone could stick that in the back of a Transit.

I managed to get myself some more manageable equipment in the form of some cases of woodtype which I'm very happy about and I've got my eye on some more metal type, spacers, and leading to add to the collection. There are also some empty type cases which, when polished up, will make a fantastic place to keep some of your pretty things and nick-nacks. Again, if you're interested in any of this, please let me know and hopefully we can appreciate some of this wonderful stuff for a few more years...